Tours

Various tour companies run guided city-sightseeing excursions that cover historic and modern Calgary in either vans or buses. A typical three- to four-hour tour includes Fort Calgary and Canada Olympic Park; some include the Stampede Grounds, the Calgary Tower, and the Olympic Speedskating Oval at the University of Calgary. Prices range between C$29 for 1½ hours (without stops) and C$45 for 4 hours, which includes guided tours of Fort Calgary and Canada Olympic Park, as well as an elevation pass for the Calgary Tower. Urban Safari Tours offers culinary tours of Calgary, and New Ming Tours takes you to the heart of Calgary's Chinatown, the third largest in Canada. Some companies operate seasonally; reservations are required for all companies.

Day trips to Banff, Lake Louise, and the Columbia Icefields are offered in buses or 15-passenger touring vans. The C$175 Icefields tour is 15 hours round-trip and includes a SnoCoach ride onto the glacier. Banff and Lake Louise tours (C$94–C$107) generally run nine hours and include a driver–guide who explains the history, geology, and ecology of the mountains. Some tours include shopping stops in Banff, a drive around Lake Minnewanka, Moraine Lake, Johnson's Canyon, and the Banff Gondola. A few tours go north to Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum or south to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Information

Brewster Tours. 2000 Airport Rd. NE, , Box 96, in Calgary International Airport main terminal, McCall North, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 6W5. 403/221–8242; www.brewster.ca.

Hammerhead Scenic Tours. 119 Whiteglen Crescent NE, Calgary, Alberta. 877/260–0940; www.hammerheadtours.com.

New Ming Tours. 323 13th Ave. SW, Calgary, Alberta. 403/554–8687; www.newmingtours.com.

Time Out for Touring. 755 Strathcona Dr. SW, Calgary, Alberta. 403/272–4699; www.tour-time.com.

Urban Safari Tours. 18 Discovery Ridge Gardens SW, Calgary, Alberta. 403/283–3158; www.urbansafaritours.com.